1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to car washing devices, and more particularly pertains to an improved car wash for automatically washing the outer surfaces of a vehicle by applying chemicals, waxes and both hot and cold water on the vehicle without any part of the device making contact with the vehicle surfaces, thus eliminating any paint scratches, broken mirrors, antennas, etc., caused by conventional contact type brush washing systems. By utilizing road-film breaking chemicals and high pressure detergent cleaning action, virtuallY all dirty surfaces of a vehicle are cleaned, leaving no uncleaned nooks or crannies. The conventional forms of car washes are of two types. In a first type, the vehicle is driven through a fixed track and a combination of spray heads and brushes wash the vehicle surface. In a second type of conventional car wash, a spray arm is mounted in a fixed track for movement around a vehicle. These conventional devices are disadvantageous because contact is required with the vehicle surface, and with the case of the fixed track movable spray head, the path of the head is not adaptable to various different sizes of vehicles. These prior art devices also require the use of electric motors in the washing area, which creates the potential for electrocution of individuals, as well as resulting in motor failure due to constant exposure to spray, steam, fog and chemicals. In order to overcome these problem, the present invention provides a non-contacting adjustable path spray system for adapting the path of a movable spray head to various different vehicle sizes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of car washing devices are known in the prior art. A typical example of such car washing device is to be found in U.S. Pat. 3,299,901, which issued to D. Axe et al on Jan. 24, 1967. This patent discloses a car wash having an L-shaped spray head supported for movement in a fixed overhead track. A handle is utilized to manually move the spray head which is supported on a pivotal cantilever arm. While the spray head is movable in perpendicular directions, it requires manual manipulation to adjust the spray head path to the configuration of the vehicle. Additionally, the L-shaped spray head must be manually indexed through a ninety degree increment at each corner of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. 3,422,827, which issued to D. McCulloch on Jan. 21, 1969, discloses a car washing device which includes an L-shaped spray head mounted for movement about a fixed rectangular track. Thus, the device is not capable of adjusting the movement path of the spray head to adapt to various different sizes of vehicles. U.S. Pat. 3,529,611, which issued to J. Daum et al on Sept. 22, 1970, discloses a car washing device which includes an L-shaped spray head having a plurality of rotatable spray nozzles spaced therealong The device lacks provisions for automatically adjusting the movement path of the spray head depending upon the dimensions of the particular vehicle being washed. U.S. Pat. 3,844,480, which issued to J. Taylor et al on Oct. 29, 1974, discloses a car washing device which includes an overhead spray head mounted for reciprocal movement in a fixed track. The spray head includes a horizontal carrier having a plurality of horizontally spaced nozzles which can be swiveled to direct the nozzle spray. At each end of travel, the horizontal carrier moves vertically up and down to wash the front and back of the vehicle.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to the same general field as the instant invention, none of these devices disclose a car wash capable of automatically adjusting the movement path of a spray head around various different sizes of vehicles, while maintaining a constant separation between the vehicle surface and the spraY head. Additionally, none of these devices disclose a car wash having a spray head mounted for movement in perpendicular directions by rodless air cylinders. Additional features of the present invention, not contemplated by the aforesaid prior art devices, include the provision of a programmable controller and a photo-electric system for measuring the dimensions of a particular vehicle and controlling the path of movement of the wash spray head. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of car washing devices, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such car washing devices, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.